Comments on A History of the Gay Circuit Party: VIDEOTypePad2012-02-20T15:54:37ZAndy Towlehttp://www.towleroad.com/tag:typepad.com,2003:http://www.towleroad.com/2012/02/a-history-of-the-gay-circuit-party-video/comments/atom.xml/Adam Sank commented on 'A History of the Gay Circuit Party: VIDEO'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c730253ef016301c92cfc970d2012-02-21T19:50:51Z2012-02-21T19:50:51ZAdam Sankhttp://www.adamsank.comI have to say, having experienced this era in my mid-to-late 20s, that it was often a helluva a lot...<p>I have to say, having experienced this era in my mid-to-late 20s, that it was often a helluva a lot of fun. Was there irresponsible behavior? Too much drug use and abuse? An overemphasis on youth and beauty? Lives ruined? Undoubtedly. But at its best, the circuit provided an undeniable sense of community. You knew everyone; you danced with everyone; you had breakfast with everyone as the sun came up. </p>
<p>And when I look at all the circuit regulars I knew then, they are all, by and large, still alive and well. Many are sober now or have simply given up the party scene. But none of us regrets having been a part of this magical experience, if only for a short time in our lives.</p>Nat commented on 'A History of the Gay Circuit Party: VIDEO'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c730253ef016301c81c1a970d2012-02-21T18:07:38Z2012-02-21T18:07:38ZNat"Wow, how articulate of you. Did all the drugs you took make you stupid, or were you just born that...<p>&quot;Wow, how articulate of you. Did all the drugs you took make you stupid, or were you just born that way?&quot;</p>
<p>I don&#39;t use recreational drugs of any kind. And did you not pick up any reading skills? I remarked in a previous comment that I could only watch the movie in small doses, because the vapidness would get to me.</p>
<p>However...</p>
<p>&quot;I plan to LIVE and face the real world like an adult.&quot;</p>
<p>I also don&#39;t fly off the handle because people choose to live their lives in different ways, including ways I find shallow and idiotic. It&#39;s not really my business if someone chooses to spend their weekend dancing shirtless and doing a bunch of drugs. So long as they contribute as a productive member of society (i.e. by working) and don&#39;t engage in risky behaviours that will affect others (i.e. barebacking), I see no reason to waste my time subjecting everyone else to my opprobrium. Go live your life, and stop getting so worked up about how others want to live theirs. </p>
<p><br />
</p>atomic commented on 'A History of the Gay Circuit Party: VIDEO'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c730253ef016301c21936970d2012-02-21T08:28:15Z2012-02-21T08:28:15Zatomic@Nat: "Haters gonna hate." Wow, how articulate of you. Did all the drugs you took make you stupid, or were...<p>@Nat: &quot;Haters gonna hate.&quot; Wow, how articulate of you. Did all the drugs you took make you stupid, or were you just born that way?</p>
<p>I have no envy for these tired old circuit queens, nor their self-obsessed, vapid lifestyle. It&#39;s laughable that anyone would want to defend them for all the self-destructiveness they have wrought. I&#39;m not some milquetoast hermit who doesn&#39;t know how to have fun; far from it. But I look at a whole generation of gay men and see just how they decided to lose themselves in drugs and muscles and sex, rather than doing the hard work of fighting for their rights to be treated as equals. And the excuse is always the same--&quot;oh, other guys were like that, but not ME.&quot; The level of denial would be comical were it not for the fact that it killed countless gay men or at least ruined their lives in the form of HIV or drug abuse, and that it continues to this day.</p>
<p>So yeah, go on and flippantly say &quot;haters gonna hate.&quot; Crystal meth makes you say anything, doesn&#39;t it? I&#39;m not going to be a statistic. I plan to LIVE and face the real world like an adult.</p>tim commented on 'A History of the Gay Circuit Party: VIDEO'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c730253ef0168e7b6e393970c2012-02-21T05:01:35Z2012-02-21T05:01:35ZtimAJJANTHONY is right...circuit parties are tedious. tried two white parties and a couple of smaller events. if you weren't high...<p>AJJANTHONY is right...circuit parties are tedious. tried two white parties and a couple of smaller events. if you weren&#39;t high on lab drugs or got caught with a beer in your hand, you were a pariah. i could get past the gate on appearance - at least back in the 90s when i went, forget it now - but it is impossible to connect with those guys unless you&#39;re high like them.</p>
<p>also THE worst dj&#39;ing ever. no sense of fun or humor. just soundtracks for the drugs in their head</p>
<p>no need for more documentaries on these things...there&#39;s just no there, there</p>ajjanthony commented on 'A History of the Gay Circuit Party: VIDEO'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c730253ef016301bf01b4970d2012-02-21T03:26:47Z2012-02-21T03:26:47ZajjanthonyThe white party and the circuit parties at Probe in L.A. were so tedious. Everyone becomes a gay stereotype robot...<p>The white party and the circuit parties at Probe in L.A. were so tedious. Everyone becomes a gay stereotype robot - they all take their shirts off, they all start rubbing themselves and loving themselves and dance in a robotic haze without really connecting with anyone in a meaningful way. Unless you were a heavy crystal user these parties to me were boring.</p>Seriously?Y commented on 'A History of the Gay Circuit Party: VIDEO'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c730253ef016762b3f1e5970b2012-02-21T03:23:10Z2012-02-21T03:23:10ZSeriously?YAs someone who was sent to some of the early Parties to review them critically, I can say they were...<p>As someone who was sent to some of the early Parties to review them critically, I can say they were summed up beautifully by a fairly unattractive man (who was surrounded by men who obviously thought they were &#39;lucky&#39; to be able to hang out with this guy) who was wearing a shirt that said in bold letters: NO, I DON&#39;T NEED ANY MORE FRIENDS.</p>
<p>To say that this guy was a walking talking syphilitic sore would be an understatement. </p>
<p>I was at this particular Party to see Ru Paul (an acquaintance) and while she was fierce the party was really disturbing. It was held in The Apparel Mart in ATL and it was the first place I ever saw barebacking in public. </p>
<p>I went to wander the &#39;salons&#39; after the show and was overwhelmed by the smell of Santorum and poppers. I was attempting to find my way out when I saw some &#39;gentlemen&#39; engaged in bareback sex. </p>
<p>It stopped me cold, and while turning to find another way out, found two more pods of guys doing the same thing.</p>
<p>Were there nice guys there? I&#39;m sure there were. But the spectacle and the smell will never leave my memory. </p>Paul R commented on 'A History of the Gay Circuit Party: VIDEO'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c730253ef016762b349dd970b2012-02-21T02:22:45Z2012-02-21T02:22:45ZPaul R@Atomic: every time I went to circuit parties and clubs, it was with at least two black friends, sometimes three...<p>@Atomic: every time I went to circuit parties and clubs, it was with at least two black friends, sometimes three (and often one female). One was morbidly obese but one of the most popular guys there. He knew everyone and had no fear approaching people. He often hooked up with incredibly hot white guys. There are no universal codes of conduct.</p>
<p>Some people are jerks, some are not. Though I still have zero interest in watching this documentary. My main issue with circuit parties is that I don&#39;t like to stay at any club-like event for more than a couple hours, so they seemed endless. And yes, vacuous, because the music was so loud that you couldn&#39;t talk.</p>Nat commented on 'A History of the Gay Circuit Party: VIDEO'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c730253ef016762b3200b970b2012-02-21T02:07:03Z2012-02-21T02:07:03ZNat"but the crux of my point has more to do with gay white male culture being a lot more narcissistic,...<p>&quot;but the crux of my point has more to do with gay white male culture being a lot more narcissistic, image-obsessed, drug-abusing, and racist than it cares to acknowledge.&quot;</p>
<p>Haters gonna hate. </p>yadda commented on 'A History of the Gay Circuit Party: VIDEO'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c730253ef0168e7b3afb9970c2012-02-21T00:01:30Z2012-02-21T00:01:30Zyaddathe editing was horrific.. the outro with the hawaian dancers, wtf? whats that supposed to symbolize? amateur stuff here.. great...<p>the editing was horrific.. the outro with the hawaian dancers, wtf? whats that supposed to symbolize? amateur stuff here.. great footage though.</p>atomic commented on 'A History of the Gay Circuit Party: VIDEO'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c730253ef016301bc8f61970d2012-02-20T23:44:32Z2012-02-20T23:44:32ZatomicTo those who seem to have interpreted my comments as being a condemnation of circuit parties, I think you're missing...<p>To those who seem to have interpreted my comments as being a condemnation of circuit parties, I think you&#39;re missing the point. Your main counterargument predictably falls along the lines of &quot;well, many gay men went to these things (including myself) and we&#39;re not all messed up.&quot; That may be true (I have no way to know and I&#39;m not sure if it&#39;s fair for you to make that self-assessment), but the crux of my point has more to do with gay white male culture being a lot more narcissistic, image-obsessed, drug-abusing, and racist than it cares to acknowledge. The circuit parties are not the cause, but rather, a consequence and concentration of such attitudes.</p>
<p>Nowadays, these attitudes are expressed in online dating/hookup profiles. Overwhelmingly, you see that when certain ideals are expressed, they are anti-black, anti-Asian, anti-fat, anti-fem. The desired individual is white (sometimes Latino), muscular, wealthy, young, and &quot;straight-acting,&quot; and that choice is defended along the lines of &quot;that&#39;s just what I&#39;m into, no racism intended.&quot;</p>
<p>It&#39;s a curious kind of self-inflicted narrow-mindedness that leads such gay men to refuse to accept certain individuals on the basis of what they look like, when all this time they cry over how oppressed they are. Perhaps this sort of cognitive dissonance serves to make them feel that, as much as they are discriminated against for being gay, at least they perceive themselves to be at the top of the totem pole in other respects.</p>Paul R commented on 'A History of the Gay Circuit Party: VIDEO'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c730253ef016301baf0c1970d2012-02-20T21:14:09Z2012-02-20T21:14:09ZPaul RI couldn't bear circuit parties because I don't like having my shirt off in public. Not because I'm fat or...<p>I couldn&#39;t bear circuit parties because I don&#39;t like having my shirt off in public. Not because I&#39;m fat or out of shape, I just don&#39;t like it and never have. Guys would constantly try to get me to take my shirt off. It got old. Take a pill at home and I&#39;ll be naked in 5 minutes, but I don&#39;t like being ogled and groped by strangers.</p>
<p>That said, I went to huge clubs in DC and NYC constantly starting at 13 and had great times with funny, great people. But I definitely agree that the circuit scene peaked in the 1990s and was pretty much over by the early 2000s.</p>Jonathan commented on 'A History of the Gay Circuit Party: VIDEO'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c730253ef0168e7b18dac970c2012-02-20T20:49:08Z2012-02-20T20:49:08ZJonathan P.S. I wouldn't go on a cruise if you paid me but I don't pass judgment on those who wait...<p>P.S. I wouldn&#39;t go on a cruise if you paid me but I don&#39;t pass judgment on those who wait for the big cruise each year like it&#39;s the second coming. It&#39;s their life. And I&#39;ve never been on one so what do I know anyway. I just suspect it&#39;s not for me. And everybody I know who goes on one gets sick for a month when they get home. (plus the suicide and the arrests this year) ;-)</p>Jonathan commented on 'A History of the Gay Circuit Party: VIDEO'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c730253ef016301baa1c9970d2012-02-20T20:46:12Z2012-02-20T20:46:12ZJonathan Oh burn. That's the best insult you have? Maybe it would be better if some of the posters here actually...<p>Oh burn. That&#39;s the best insult you have? Maybe it would be better if some of the posters here actually attended the parties instead of just judging from afar. The truth is nothing is black and white and the parties, like life, have a little bit of everything. Right now the best parties are mixed because in big cities we are living in a post gay world where it makes no difference who&#39;s there. The straight muscle boys are flattered by the gay attention and the straight girls flirt with us. It&#39;s actually pretty amazing, and the music is always fun to dance to. I went out New Year&#39;s Day and I&#39;ll go out again in late March, then maybe oner the summer a few times. Now if you want to pass judgment then write about the Cruises, which are nothing short of horrific. See, everybody has a line in the sand, even me.</p>Don commented on 'A History of the Gay Circuit Party: VIDEO'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c730253ef016301ba9717970d2012-02-20T20:37:40Z2012-02-20T20:37:40ZDonIt's really easy to stereotype people who go to circuit parties from a distance; up close the picture becomes infinitely...<p>It&#39;s really easy to stereotype people who go to circuit parties from a distance; up close the picture becomes infinitely more complicated. I won&#39;t bother trying to disabuse people here of the misconceptions they might have of me and others who go to parties. I know who I am and don&#39;t need to defend myself against anyone. I&#39;ve had some of the most joyous experiences of my life on the dance floor, and no amount of judgment from others can take that away from me.</p>Oliver commented on 'A History of the Gay Circuit Party: VIDEO'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c730253ef016301ba6e0a970d2012-02-20T20:21:41Z2012-02-20T20:21:41ZOliver@Jonathan, thanks for your "expert" analysis of the comments here. You being such an expert and all perhaps you should...<p>@Jonathan, thanks for your &quot;expert&quot; analysis of the comments here. You being such an expert and all perhaps you should write a book. I&#39;ll bet there are several publishers that would give you a dollar advance.</p>JONNY NYNY2FLFL commented on 'A History of the Gay Circuit Party: VIDEO'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c730253ef016762af6c13970b2012-02-20T20:20:05Z2012-02-20T20:20:05ZJONNY NYNY2FLFLhttp://Towleroad.comPerhaps the film over-analyses its subject. C'mon, they were just big parties & people went to have a good time....<p>Perhaps the film over-analyses its subject. C&#39;mon, they were just big parties &amp; people went to have a good time.</p>
<p>Everyone had their own experiences &amp; retain their own memories.</p>
<p>No profound all-inclusives universal truths to be drawn here. Still, it was an interesting film to me. Reminds me of the good old days.</p>JoshG commented on 'A History of the Gay Circuit Party: VIDEO'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c730253ef016762af34e8970b2012-02-20T20:01:22Z2012-02-20T20:01:22ZJoshGThe original circuit parties were fantastic, in part because they sprang out of HIV/AIDS-related charities. They were essentially benefits. And...<p>The original circuit parties were fantastic, in part because they sprang out of HIV/AIDS-related charities. They were essentially benefits. And those were the days of Ecstasy which lent a very, very different vibe to the parties. And if there was any barebacking going on, it was deeply underground and unthinkable to most of us. The parties were a way to escape what was, prior to the arrival of combination therapies, a very grim time. In some ways, a celebration of survival (I know - get me!).</p>
<p>The last good ones, to my mind, were at the March on Washington and then the next year at the pier dance for Stonewall 25.</p>
<p>Sydney Mardi Gras was awesome - especially the year Kylie showed up at 2:00 or 3:00 am for the big show. It was unbelievable.</p>
<p>But once crystal meth appeared on the scene and the common purpose dissipated, the parties became commercial ventures.</p>
<p>For me the era, which really began around 1983-84 was over by 1995.</p>
<p>So the video from 1998 dates to a time almost 15 years past the first events.</p>
<p>At that point the circuit was as dead as disco, crystal had taken hold and barebacking had begun to emerge.</p>
<p>Awful.</p>Jonathan commented on 'A History of the Gay Circuit Party: VIDEO'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c730253ef016762af04e8970b2012-02-20T19:46:47Z2012-02-20T19:46:47ZJonathan You people are all ridiculous. These parties for the majority of people are just a night out, just like straight...<p>You people are all ridiculous. These parties for the majority of people are just a night out, just like straight people get to have a night out, maybe drinking, maybe smoking pot, maybe taking a pill or two and dancing your ass off and then going back to your life for 3-6 months. If that&#39;s a bad thing then I&#39;d rather live in my world than yours.</p>
<p>This movie is propaganda pure and simple. Someday someone will do a movie about the circuit from the inside and show the truth, the good and the bad. Not to mention almost everything he said about each specific drug was proven incorrect over the next 14 years. </p>
<p>I love reading comments by queens who sound like Anita Bryant clones.</p>uffda commented on 'A History of the Gay Circuit Party: VIDEO'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c730253ef016301b9f8eb970d2012-02-20T19:41:37Z2012-02-20T19:41:37ZuffdaIs there really much of a difference between this and the Fire Island wedding video posted over the weekend? The...<p>Is there really much of a difference between this and the Fire Island wedding video posted over the weekend? The same empty, drunken faces in front of hollow excess. Nevertheless DXX has made the most balanced assessment here. Good people, healthy ones and lots of them, can be found everywhere. Check out that other and very opposite gay wedding video from the Mid-west posted a few months ago.</p>The Milkman commented on 'A History of the Gay Circuit Party: VIDEO'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c730253ef016762ae8527970b2012-02-20T18:57:33Z2012-02-20T18:57:33ZThe MilkmanAtomic you've clearly thought this through, and make an eloquent statement regarding your feelings and observations on the matter. However,...<p>Atomic you&#39;ve clearly thought this through, and make an eloquent statement regarding your feelings and observations on the matter. </p>
<p>However, I can&#39;t help but be saddened by the pessimistic tack you&#39;ve taken. Sure, there are miserable narcissistic douchebags among those who frequent such parties. But there are also lots of normal well-adjusted guys who enjoy the spectacle. I&#39;ve been to a couple of these parties (albeit back in 1999 and 2000) and am quite assuredly not a body-obsessed mess who&#39;s unable to maintain a relationship. Though I will admit to having a trainer and being a little more attentive to my fitness (in a healthy way) as I enter my mid 40s. The older we get, the more work it takes to stay fit.</p>
<p>Circuits died for a lot of reasons. I can&#39;t say I&#39;m terribly sad to see that scene diminish from its late 90s early aughts zenith. But I&#39;d venture to say that a large percentage of people who attended such events returned home to a rather pedestrian lifestyle. They aren&#39;t all WeHo muscle boys, and even those oft-stereotyped guys can occasionally surprise us with substance and insight. </p>Oliver commented on 'A History of the Gay Circuit Party: VIDEO'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c730253ef0168e7b06161970c2012-02-20T18:56:09Z2012-02-20T18:56:09ZOliverbeen there, done that. i do wish i owned the drug concession for all of those parties though...<p>been there, done that. i do wish i owned the drug concession for all of those parties though...</p>atomic commented on 'A History of the Gay Circuit Party: VIDEO'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c730253ef016762ae1412970b2012-02-20T18:14:17Z2012-02-20T18:14:17Zatomic@EXCY: The circuits themselves don't exist, but the attitudes prevail in the minds of an entire generation of gay men...<p>@EXCY: The circuits themselves don&#39;t exist, but the attitudes prevail in the minds of an entire generation of gay men who still cling to the idealized, romanticized vision of the &quot;empowering&quot; and &quot;liberating&quot; experience that they believed it to be, and wish that they could relive it. You can almost pick out who these men are--if they&#39;re still alive--just by looking at them. They&#39;re miserable because they still live in denial, their friends are either dead or just as delusional, they do everything they can to prop up their aging bodies because their entire sense of self-worth is defined by how pretty they look to others, and they have no understanding of love or commitment and so are incapable of having meaningful relationships. Then they go around bitching about how they&#39;re miserable because the straights oppress them, refusing to accept that they&#39;re the ones who have emotionally imprisoned themselves.</p>
<p>That said, the ultimate reason why the circuits died is not because gay culture realized its destructiveness, but because the explosion of the internet made it irrelevant as a means of securing drugs and sex. Gay men didn&#39;t grow up; they just realized it was easier to get their hookups online. The underlying attitudes and behaviors (racist, narcissistic, addictive, exclusionary) remain.</p>excy commented on 'A History of the Gay Circuit Party: VIDEO'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c730253ef0168e7afba9f970c2012-02-20T17:48:44Z2012-02-20T17:48:44ZexcySubstance abuse, narcissistic personality disorders, delusion, addiction and exclusion. A recipe for disaster. Does the circuit still exist?<p>Substance abuse, narcissistic personality disorders, delusion, addiction and exclusion. A recipe for disaster. Does the circuit still exist? </p>zeddy commented on 'A History of the Gay Circuit Party: VIDEO'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c730253ef016762addc6f970b2012-02-20T17:48:43Z2012-02-20T17:48:43ZzeddyWith that said, this is quite an insightful documentary. :)<p>With that said, this is quite an insightful documentary. :)</p>zeddy commented on 'A History of the Gay Circuit Party: VIDEO'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c730253ef016762adb9d2970b2012-02-20T17:38:21Z2012-02-20T17:38:21ZzeddyCircuit parties ruined gay club life. Of course you could blame it on the drugs of choice (when it was...<p>Circuit parties ruined gay club life. Of course you could blame it on the drugs of choice (when it was fun it was X which supply and demand sent a downward spiral with crystal), but for the most part, the thing my friends and I didn&#39;t like about circuit parties (and the guys that inhabited bodies on the dance floor) is it was bland mixture of mostly suburban guys who had no taste in style so they took off their shirts. And since sex &gt; all, that provided a precedence of gay club life (and its eventual demise). Some of the club kids would stick around for the mess, but most of us just gave up and moved on with our lives and leave all the big clubs to eventually close down.</p>